Town Fines Powder Ridge Ski Area

February 15, 2002|By MICHAEL GREENWOOD; Courant Staff Writer

MIDDLEFIELD — Powder Ridge Ski Area has been accused of violating zoning regulations and fined $1,050.

Members of the town's inland wetlands commission voted this week to fine the ski area, saying it improperly installed nearly 3,000 feet of piping and pumps to draw water from Lake Beseck. The water is being used to make snow.

``It was done to send a message,'' First Selectman Charles Augur said of the fine. ``I don't recall a fine being levied in recent years. It's unusual.''

He said the amount of the fine was ``appropriate.''

Ken Leavitt, president of the ski area, obtained an emergency permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection Dec. 31 to draw water from the state-owned lake. He also informed Augur of his need for the water and received his help with the application.

But what happened next is less certain. Leavitt has said he thought all the necessary approvals from the state and town were in place and he proceeded to install the piping. Augur said he told Leavitt to contact the town boards that oversee wetlands and zoning.

What is certain is that the pipes and pumps were up and running and the town had not granted a permit. The piping system was ruled a violation of the town's zoning regulations.

Leavitt could not be reached Thursday to comment on the fine. He has until Feb. 28 to pay. Pumping water from the lake also has to be discontinued on that day and all the equipment has to be removed by March 7.

The ski area was fined for seven days at a rate of $150 per day, because seven days passed from the time Leavitt first contacted the wetlands commission until he submitted his application for the already completed project, said Thomas Weber, the town's wetlands enforcement officer.

Leavitt has said he was responding to an emergency situation for his business. He has his own lake, which is usually used for snowmaking, but it was nearly empty because of drier than normal conditions. In a winter when natural snow has been scarce, Leavitt needed the water to coat his slopes with powder.